A Day without a Hero
by Skyward Princess of Time
Summary: Link gets sick, and Ordon is unable to function properly. Link is taken care of by a very special princess. Post TP, Zelink. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda. If I did… xD**

"**A Day without the Hero" is rated K+ for Link's mild language use.**

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_**A Day without the Hero**_

_A Legend of Zelda Fanfiction_

What a beautiful day.

It was a pleasant temperature, mild but not too cold. The sun shone brightly down, giving a nice golden tint to the landscape. There was a small enough breeze to tingle one's senses without sending a chill down the spine. The flowers bloomed, the grass was green, and everyone was out playing and enjoying the lovely weather.

Link hated it.

Well, he didn't normally hate good weather. Usually he'd be right out there with everyone, tending to the fields and taking Epona for a nice ride. But today, no, today was different.

The children of Ordon appeared before the young hero's hut, calling for him to come out and play. Link wanted nothing more than to smack them across the head with his wooden sword. Their incessant nagging only added to his pounding migraine.

The sunlight burned his pupils. Link couldn't even look out his window. It may have been mild outside, but one minute Link was burning up and the next minute he was freezing. Still, Link didn't want the children to feel like he'd abandoned him. He tentatively pulled back the blinds, forcing himself to shout out to the brats that he was taking the day off from everything.

That was the plan; however he burst into a horrendous fit of coughing before he could get any words out.

Being sick sucked. Link couldn't think of anything he despised more. He'd rather take on a raging horde of Bokoblins than this torture. Usually, he was very healthy. He could go weeks without a proper diet or sleep and still be just fine. But you know what they say, when it rains, it pours.

Yep, it was definitely pouring.

Link collapsed by the side of his window, trying to ease his breathing and trying to reach for the wooden bucket. If he didn't make it, he'd have to clean up his home and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Link?" That was Fado, probably wondering why the young hero hadn't shown up for work. Yeah, even after saving the world a year ago, Link was still the farmhand. Truthfully, he wanted nothing more. He hated city life. The air was thin and there were too many people.

Link was afraid to open his mouth. If he did, something other than words would come out.

"Link? You in there, pardner? The goats aren't listening to me."

When do the goats ever listen to Fado? Never. Every single day Link had to calm the goats down. Not like he minded, he had a way with animals, but who's the owner of the farm now? Really, Fado. Get with the program.

"Move aside, Fado," Ilia instructed. "Link, we're coming in whether you like it or not."

Link cursed internally, since he couldn't actually speak. Ilia was worse than his mother. Not that he had any memory of his mother, but damn Ilia was overbearing. She'd first insist that he got sick because he didn't actually sleep in a bed—he preferred the floor, beds hurt his back—then spend the entire afternoon spoon-feeding him bits of overcooked porridge and reading him children's bed stories. How old was Link anyways, twelve?

Ilia waltzed right in, climbing up the ladder and frowning, putting her hands on her hips at the sight of the ill hero. Link wanted to tell her to move aside, grab the bucket because he was going to puke all over her if she didn't move within the next five seconds.

Well, he opened his mouth, and just as he suspected, words weren't what came out. He threw up all over an unsuspecting Ilia. Whoops. He hoped those weren't her nice clothes.

To his shock, she didn't seem angry at him for vomiting at all. She simply smiled gently, checking his temperature and helping him down the ladder.

"We should take him to my house," She instructed Fado calmly. "He'll recover quicker in a bed."

"You overdid it," Ilia whispered in Link's ear. "I knew you'd get sick."

Link wished he had the strength to argue with her.

* * *

Why the hell did Ilia think Link would recover more at Mayor Bo's? Good lord. The only bed was well within earshot of the main room, where everyone and their mother came to discuss issues with the mayor at the top of their lungs. He would have gone back to his house, if it weren't for Ilia watching over him like a hawk. He also simply didn't have the strength to leave.

"Mayor, the goats got loose again."

Damn that Fado.

"Mayor, the children went chasing after monkeys again."

Again? Didn't those damn brats know how to stay in one place?

"Mayor, Sera's cat is missing again."

She should just keep that thing on a leash at this rate. And why did she name the cat Link? Talk about creepy.

"Mayor, Uli lost her baby's rattle."

A monkey probably stole it. The same monkey the children were chasing.

After a morning of the same complaints, Mayor Bo threw his hands up in frustration.

"Enough!" The mayor boomed. "What is with all of these issues? Who usually solves these problems!?"

"Father, that would be Link," Ilia spoke up from her position beside Link's bed. "He usually aids the village. Who would've thought we would be so helpless without him, though."

Another villager came in with a random complaint. Between his fever and the haze that surrounded him, Link couldn't quite catch the details. Delirious or not, Link knew he had a job to do. The village needed him. Sure, they may all be incompetent, but that wasn't a good enough reason to let them suffer. Taking advantage of Ilia's distraction, Link pulled himself up.

Damn. What the hell was going inside his head? Were Bokoblins running around in there? Sheesh. Link grimaced, ignoring the pain and attempting to stand up. He stumbled forward as if drunk, flailing around trying to grasp something to hold onto and instead falling flat on his face. He choked, trying not to throw up. All he saw was a cloud of haze.

"What do you think you're doing, Link?" A sharp, female voice asked.

"Have…to…help…the…village," Link panted, coughing miserably.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Yes, I'm…" Link stubbornly pulled himself up, making his way to the door. Well, at least he thought he was going in the right direction.

"I said you're not going anywhere."

Link heard a metal clang as darkness took the young hero.

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Goddesses damn it.

Seriously, who the hell hits a sick man with a pot? If Link had the energy, he would curse out whoever thought it was a good idea. Now his migraine hurt even more.

Link was surprised to find a cool, damp rag on his forehead. To his surprise, the material was pink. It didn't look like Ilia's. There was a little "Z" in the corner of the cloth. Z? Could that be…?

Link blinked, desperately trying to see properly. Sure enough, the young woman sitting beside his bed was most certainly not Ilia. Link could tell from her beautiful long hair and her sparkling light eyes.

Zelda. Princess Zelda was in his bedroom.

….he always wanted to say that.

"Zelda?" Link croaked out. Zelda promptly shushed him; flicking him gently on the forehead and helping him take a couple sips of cool water. The water felt refreshing against his sore throat. Come to think of it, his head hurt a bit less than it previously did. It seemed rather contradictory given the circumstances, but Link wasn't going to complain. His fever was down, too. Hell, Link could make a couple of breaths without coughing. Sweet relief.

That's not to say he was cured, because he certainly wasn't, but he did feel worlds better. He even felt well enough to pick himself up enough into a sitting position. Zelda seemed pleased.

"You look better," she said soothingly. "We all were a bit worried there."

Link tentatively rubbed the back of his head where she hit him. There was a nice sized lump the size of a red rupee. He'd pay her back eventually for that.

"Who in their right mind hits an ill man with a pot?"

"I had no choice," Zelda insisted. "You were about to do something stupid."

Link grimaced, dramatically exaggerating his wince for an added effect. Zelda huffed.

"Oh please. You've had much worse than that small flesh wound," She pouted, crossing her hands over her chest.

Link smiled. Got her.

"Thank you," he said earnestly. "I don't know what you did, but I feel loads better now."

"It's nothing," she blushed. "Hyrule becomes chaos without its hero. Which, of course, makes things harder for me." Link noticed that she was smiling. Zelda was always very careful with her emotions, trying not to smile, laugh, or really show anything. That was why some called her the "Ice Princess". Link couldn't disagree more. Zelda was a very emotional person. She just had a different way of showing it.

"By the way, where's Ilia?"

Zelda blushed a deeper shade of red, glancing back and forth. "Uh, she had to…take care of something."

"What did you put her up to?"

"Collecting herbs from beside Lake Hylia," Zelda mumbled softly.

Link gasped. Ilia didn't have a horse. It would take her days to reach Lake Hylia and back. Sure, thankfully there was no real danger, but still, that was quite the journey. Given how gullible Ilia was, Zelda probably convinced her that it was the only way to save Link. Link sighed. Zelda could be incredibly petty sometimes.

…not that he minded at all.

"Zel, you're ruthless," he chuckled.

She smiled. "Defeating the enemies of Hyrule is my best talent, you know."

Ilia was hardly a threat to Hyrule's safety, but Link knew exactly what she meant.

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**A/N**

**Just a quick little oneshot. I got the idea from missing school today. (Although, admittedly I'm not sick, I'm just uh…. xD) Hey, that's what my school gets for scheduling class when the rest of the country has it off. ;)**

**Please leave a review! It would make my day. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story! :D**


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